Longtime Scalzi obsessives will remember that Agent is actually the first novel I wrote, back in 1997, when I wrote it as a “practice novel” to see if I could actually write to novel length. Since then it’s had lots of adventures as it moved toward print, and I continue to be amazed that it just keeps coming — for a practice novel, it’s had an amazingly long and successful life. It does help that it’s actually a pretty fun story.

Since the story is now 11 years old, but is supposed to take place in contemporary time (i.e., now), for this edition of the book I’ve gone in and made some updates to the text to make sure it reflects the world of 2008 accurately. The changes are subtle but they’re definitely there. As such, this version of Agent to the Stars could accurately be called “the author’s definitive version.” Which is to say if you get this one, you’re getting the story as I prefer it to be read (if you got the other version — hey, it’s a collector’s item. Everybody wins).

If you haven’t read this one yet, I hope you’ll check it out. It’s tons of fun and I had a blast writing it. I think you’ll have a blast reading it too.

Huh!? But I read that six months ago. It was an awesome read. *goes to bookshelf* Not my imagination. *looks closer* Advance Reading Copy? Now I’m really confused. How on Earth did I get that? Um, thanks, John? (No, you don’t know me.)

Seriously, that book was more fun than Chad doing the monkey dance. Get thee all to a bookstore and rejoice!

Well, mine is in the mail in any case, but how will you replace the Pauly Shore jokes? I mean, they’re a bit outdated now, but it’s Pauly Shore. We don’t get that kind of comedic incompetence from a single actor anymore.

I enjoyed the book in it’s web incarnation, but it’ll be nice to get a ‘proper’ copy to shelve beside my other Scalzi books. Sadly, the UK Amazon store just mailed me to say that they weren’t expecting to be able to send it out for about another month.

On a semi related note; I had recently unpacked all of my books and put them up on the “new and improved” bookshelves and then went WTF. Why, because I couldn’t find OMW or TGB anywhere. TLC, check. Z’s Tale, check. TAD, check. Where are they? I was sure I bought them before but did I?

So I went out and bought them again. Brand new and shiny.

So, either I have now supported the Scalzi empire fully or added extra to Athena’s college fund by buying twice.

I don’t mind.
If I find the originals, I’ll give them to an unsuspecting neophyte reader and draw another into the fold Bwa ha ha ha

From 1990 to 1992 I was Cosmo Magnus, Agent To The Stars (But Seriously, Babe, Just Call Me Max) in St. Louis, MO. But did I think to write a novel about it? Did I? Even with the amazing goings on with Pretty Weird Carter, Jim The Photographer, Herb The Photographer, Kimora and Charlie Moron?

Damn those lost opportunities, is what I says. You’re just too fast for me, even eleven years late.

The first John Scalzi novel I ever read — ‘way back when — and, just as with Old Man’s War, I got it by paying the proprietor of the Web page a buck-ninety-eight (or some such miniscule amount) via PayPal, and then printed it out (because I spend too many hours staring at computer screens as it is) and somewhere in my house both of those early examples of the Scalzi oeuvre still exist (I just don’t know where they might be).

Not that you need any further reinforcement to the idea it was smart to put that story online, but I remember finding the internet txt for Agent and I started reading a few pages. Then I printed it off at work and read the whole thing. Then I gave it to a friend at work, he read it also, and then one more friend took it home. That free online piece sold one of each of your books (so far) to me, one of each of your books to my work friends, 3 duplicates to my father and sold 3 numbered editions of agent and one lettered edition. Not a bad return.

And if this is the best place to brag about such things, I have #18/1500 and letter C of the lettered editions. Can I ask who got A and B?

Dear Mr. Scalzi,
i don’t know if you get to read all the comments generated here on your ‘whatever’ website, but i wanted to let you know that i loved Agent to the Stars. i re-read it every few weeks, and i read and re-read books constantly, my whole life – i’m 57. mostly science fiction and mysteries, but finding Agent to the Stars was a great find – will you be writing a sequel? humor in GOOD science fiction is hard to find, and you have the talent for it.
thanks,

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